"Sentiment was rather positive today [...] and optimism will dominate the market by the year's end," Alexander Madjirov, portfolio manager at Sofia-based UBB Asset Management, told SeeNews.
The SOFIX index, which includes the 20 most liquid stocks on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), added 0.66% to 358.26 points, and the broader BG40 index, which tracks the 40 most traded shares on the bourse, inched 0.04% higher to 107.45.
"I expect the indices will consolidate around these levels," Madjirov said.
"It was very interesting to see transactions of significant packages of shares between shareholders, which means that institutional investors are becoming more active," Madjirov said.
A total 247,570 shares of power tools manufacturer Sparky Eltos changed hands in a single transaction at 1.75 levs per share. The company stock, part of the benchmark SOFIX index, plunged 12.5% to close at 1.75 levs in a total volume of 267,715 shares.
Trading in blue-chip lender Central Cooperative Bank was also very active as it has been in recent days, Madjirov said.
The bank added 2.0% to 2.07 levs as 220,101 stocks were traded.
BSE's total turnover, excluding block and other pre-agreed deals, rose to 11.5 million levs ($8.3 million/5.9 million euro) from 2.1 million levs on Tuesday. Trade in bonds made up 74% of Wednesday's turnover.
Most of the bonds traded were those issued by industrial group Industrial Holding Bulgaria, Madjirov said.
A total 8,229 bonds of the blue-chip company changed hands adding 2.0% to 102 levs after opening at their par value of 100 levs. No deals were done with the bonds on Tuesday when they were listed on the stock exchange.
On Wednesday, fallers outnumbered gainers by 49 to 34 and 11 shares closed unchanged.
The BG TotalReturn30 (BG TR30) index, in which companies with a free float of at least 10% have equal weight, slid 0.38% to 272.03 points, while the BG-REIT index, tracking the performance of real estate investment trusts, dropped 1.46% to 46.41 points.
The Dnevnik 20 index, calculated by local business daily Dnevnik from the share prices of the 20 leading companies in terms of liquidity and market capitalisation, advanced 0.53% to 54.97 points.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)
